Shocked to have been secretly recorded at work.

[Whataninvasionofprivacy]

I work as a TA in school, and last week at the end of a lesson, the teacher called me over and indicated (behind the kid’s backs) to the class cupboard. She then whispered “Will you turn off the iPad?” I wasn’t sure what she was on about, but she then whispered that she’d just recorded the entire lesson, but didn’t want the kids to know. She had been told to do this by a senior staff member.

Am I being ridiculous to feel annoyed by this? I’m sure I should have been told beforehand. Also what about parents who don’t normally consent, they had no choice in this case.

"Could have been propped up on an iPad stand on an open shelf."

Do your cupboards not have shelves and doors thst can open? Most I've seen do.

it's highly unlikely that GDPR hasn't been followed to the letter

@saraclara again this is hilariously misguided.

just look at the nonsense spouted on this thread, so many people don’t understand their obligations and even those that do frequently don’t adhere to them.

@OneBadKitty

Can you imagine if written permission had to be gained to take a photo or video of a child

this is what the law requires in a school setting.

No, the camera should still be obvious and /or signed (ideally both)

Where's your information coming from because it counters everything I've been trained on/told about classroom recordings and recording students.

You're stretching @megifer. Seriously

I am no expert, but I think you need someone’s permission to record them or photograph them inside, but not outside. However, that clearly doesn’t apply to CCTV. I would raise it. You should certainly have been told and been given the option to be in a different classroom while the recording was happening.

I’m a senior privacy lawyer working in tech since before GDPR was a “thing”.

I’ve contributed to a number of books on privacy and litigated some of the issues that are coming up on this thread. What that I have said do you disagree with?

Parents here fretting about their kids being recorded at school but have probably handed them a mobile phone and have no idea what photos or videos of themselves they have taken and freely shared or uploaded all over the internet!

very true.

I used to work in an area aligned to IT security. We used to receive a “daily threats” email from a security company. It is actually quite scary to see how many security attacks there are. It’s a constant daily battle. The idea that it’s ok because only the teachers look at a recording is a very naive and dangerous approach to data security.

It is actually scary how many teachers are in this thread condoning what has happened. I know you’ve all been gaslight into an abusive profession - where your rights are trampled on but Jesus.

Covert recording from a camera hidden away in a cupboard is not ok or allowed - no matter what policy says. My God.

OP as a school governor, I strongly suggest you report this incident. Go straight to the head. If there is an issue in relation to GDPR and it comes out later that you knew this recording existed and kept quiet, you could be held accountable.

Hugely concerning that so many teachers on this thread have such a sketchy understanding of this. Don’t you all get GDPR training as standard?

100%

Who on earth has been "training" you then?

Agreed. It's quite eye opening to read.

Looks like I'm not the only one

Well I’m a retired teacher and would have created merry hell if recordings were made without my knowledge.

Looks like I might have been advised wrong in the past, by the ICO themselves.

Just had a look on Iris FAQs and they do say data subjects should be told when they are being filmed.

My ex employer used to record lectures at colleges, so minors involved, I asked the ICO via their chat about DPIA, signage, consent etc as was a bit worried about our approach and they said it was exempt from the surveillance scope as it came under conferences/ training, we just needed to register with them, do a DPIA/LIA and update the privacy notice.

APOLOGIES ffs.

I'm off to NC 🖕

It's amazing how many people running schools seem to think the law doesn't apply to them, or that their policies are God basically.

I'm used to reading about schools making up their own rules on asking parents for medical information, contrary to DfE guidance, but such the lack of understanding of GDPR from teachers on this thread is breathtaking.

2/10 must do better.

Looks like I'm not the only one

True. There are a lot of other misinformed people on this thread who think this is ok.

Don't make me apologise again I'm already dying a bit

The people running the chat function often have v limited knowledge tbh

I think you should have been told that you have been recorded but that being said I have often wondered why schools don’t all have a live feed recording from all class rooms so parents in real time can see if their kid is behaving like a little shit. It might be an eye opener for the Johnny never does anything wrong brigade. Also it means you can see what teachers are saying to your kids in real time plus if there is an incident it’s recorded so win win.

Much as teachers would love proof of poor behaviour, there's no way that parents should be able to watch other parents' children in lessons.

But why not if people signed for it I know some nurseries do this so why not